Gray is Nothing but Perception
by emjalen
Summary: It is not easy for a Jedi to love, for they have a higher calling. They are the guardians of all, not one, and to be so selfish is a betrayal and failure beyond comprehension. They are not just crude matter but luminous beings as well. Life isn't black and white, but that doesn't mean it's all shades of gray either. Feel free to imagine any Jedi as the character.


Disclaimer- I don't own Star Wars

I believe in the Jedi Code. I know what you must be thinking- that I have been brain washed and twisted emotionally to see the jedi and their high-handed ways as honorable since birth, that I have manipulated and everything I have been taught is skewed. You are wrong. I believe, with all my being, in the Jedi Code and non-attachment.

There are those who live their life by their emotions, swayed by their desires and anger, who rage against the Jedi way of serenity. They say we are cold, that we have lost our true purpose, that we are nothing more than the Senate's enforcers shielded by the arrogance of our tradition, stagnated in our ways.

The Jedi have lasted as a cohesive group for thousands of years, through Republics and Empires alike. We are not swayed by such a petty thing as governmental allegiance. We stay with the Republic because they are civilization and law, order and knowledge. Such are the foundations of our Code.

I believe that there is no emotion, only peace. No ignorance but knowledge. No passion, but serenity. No chaos, but harmony. No death, but the Force.

I believe, because the galaxy is writhing with emotion. I have seen hundreds of life forms die because of their ignorance, whether in matters of healing or war or learning. Crimes are committed every day and lives are destroyed because of fits of passions, touching all, from child to grandparent with a careless stroke of selfishness. I have seen chaos, caused by all these things, destroy lives in the present, and wreck the future for the next generations. I have seen death come, as unstoppable as the sunrise, and with no care for the life, the passion, and the toils of the one it takes.

Yoda's words of wisdom ring true. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads hate. Hate leads to the dark side. Fear, caused by emotionalism leads beings to anger, and in their anger they darken and do horrible things.

This is our galaxy, the curse of the crude matter we are limited by until we unite with the Living Force.

For those of us who have the ability to touch the Force, we have a severe responsibility. Misuse of our gifts could lead to chaos on a grand scale, to the abuse of minds, to the break down of order. When order dies, so do the people who so depend on it. The jedi are the guardians of this order, this harmony of controlled life and death that allows the galaxy to twist, to turn, to writhe, to live and to die within the heartbeats of stars.

We are guardians, watchers, protectors, preservers of knowledge, peace, and life. We must set ourselves above the murky emotions those who indulge in their passions. Our judgment cannot be compromised, for if our judgment is compromised, our actions become clouded. Our intentions become clouded, selfish. We might act for the good of one, not the good of all, and cause damage that would have great effects in doing so.

The truth is, a Force-user without morals, without discipline, who acts on emotional impulses in order to protect certain people is a wild life form without reason who is a danger to those around them. They are not Jedi, but destroyers of balance, of harmony, of peace.

I believe in the Jedi Way with every breath I take, with every beat of my heart. If I am not detached, I cannot act in the good of the whole. I would try to heal, only to see it wound. I would try to defend, only to destroy. I would try to save, only to break beyond compare.

I am serene.

Meditation is the cornerstone upon which the Jedi live, the practice of discipline, of searching for knowledge, of stoicism, of collecting yourself and then smoothing your mind.

I seek peace.

I seek knowledge.

I seek serenity.

I seek harmony.

I seek the Force.

And I know that I will not find them tonight, for my actions have branded me. I have betrayed my principles. I have betrayed the Jedi and what I believe in. I have betrayed the Force.

I have fallen in love.

I am a lie, and the stain of my weakness will never leave me. I have failed.


End file.
